
Europe External Programme with Africa is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peacebuilding, refugee protection, and resilience in the Horn of Africa. EEPA has published extensively on issues related to the movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn of Africa and on the Central Mediterranean Route. It cooperates with a wide network of Universities, research organisations, civil society, and experts from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and across Africa. The situation reports can be found here.
Reported Situation in Tigray (per 09 May )
- In a new report published on Friday, the UN has said that aid convoys are being blocked.
- Relief Society of Tigray (REST) says Aman Desta, one of its inventory control officers was killed by Eritrean and Ethiopian troops while distributing emergency food in Kola Tembien, Guya sub-district.
- The report said that out of a cluster of 19 thousand children under five, 431 were found to be severely malnourished. Similarly, out of 4,447 women, 2,721 were found to be acutely malnourished.
- MSF is also reporting numbers about malnutrition; Out of 309 children screened in remote clinics, 26% were found to have malnutrition, and 6 percent had severe malnutrition.
- These MSF numbers however do not account for the entire region. In some areas, the level of severe malnutrition among children went up to 12%. Many other areas have also not been reached.
- Dedebit Media said hundreds of Eritrean troops were killed and wounded by Tigray defense forces at Gerihu-Sernay, near the Ethio-Eritrea border.
- According to Ethio-forum, Eritrean troops have destroyed the Mereb Bridge that connects Eritrea to central Tigray from the Eritrean side. The Mereb Bridge was donated by The Netherlands two decades ago, as a contribution to the border agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
- Reported that Eritrean and Ethiopian forces have shelled the town of Hawzien, Eastern Tigray with heavy artillery and rockets.
Reported International Situation (per 09 May)
- On Thursday, 6 May, newly appointed US Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, paid a visit to Asmara, Eritrea, for a 3-hour meeting with President Isaias Afewerki. It was the first time in several years that a senior US official was able to meet with high-level Eritrean officials in Eritrea.
- On Friday, 7 May 2021, Feltman arrived in Sudan for a two-day visit.
- Payton Knopf, Deputy to US Envoy for Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman, and part of the US delegation visiting Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sudan, stated: “We have seen a really fundamental shift in the security and political environment in Ethiopia, the most fundamental shift since the Prime Minister came to power in 2018 that has involved the escalation of violence, substantial closing of political space, and a number of other issues that have called into question the reform agenda. Ethiopia’s transition as originally envisioned when Prime Minister Abiy came to power is really dead. Every major opposition figure or voice of dissent against Abiy is now in prison, and that is really the opposite of what we want to see.”
- In an earlier meeting of April 28th with the Ethiopia Contact Group, Feltman had laid out US concerns about the conflict in Tigray.
- The US, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, and the EU expressed support for a donor conference to increase humanitarian funding to the region.
- The UK, US, Sweden, and Norway voiced the need for stronger sanctions against Eritrea for its non-withdrawal from Tigray.
- Denmark and the UK emphasized transparency and the need to review the Terms of Reference that will lead a joint UN (OHCHR) and Ethiopian (ECHR) investigation into crimes and atrocities committed during the conflict.
- The Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, and Denmark said that if the international community should call for a postponement of the upcoming elections, it should only do so privately.
- The US, France, the Netherlands, and Ireland called for a balanced and strategic approach to approving projects at international financial institutions.
- On Eritrea, the meeting said the indicated withdrawal is not taking place, and the Eritreans have remained active across the region, committing human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and causing massive displacement.
- US Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Robert Godec, said that on the issue of elections, it is becoming increasingly clear that free and fair elections will not be possible.
- The EU said that it had intended to send election monitors, however, the EU was unable to come to an agreement with the Ethiopian government on a Memorandum of Understanding. The disagreement included the deployment of satellite phones with the monitoring teams.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 9 May)
- An extraordinary interview by the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abu Matthias, is smuggled out of Ethiopia and aired by CNN. The patriarch calls the Ethiopian war in Tigray a ‘genocide’.
- The comments were made in Addis Ababa, recorded one month ago. The Patriarch is under house arrest. He states that the Ethiopian government and its allies “want to destroy the people of Tigray.”
- The Patriarch also said that he is not allowed to speak out, or make public statements, saying that “all my messages have been banned and prevented.” and that “until now I have not had the opportunity to display my message through the media”.
- The Patriarch spoke of the massacres that took place in Aksum, the holy city of the Ethiopian Orthodox church, the destruction of Debre Damo, and other holy places.
- The Patriarch expressed his anguish over the fate of the people of Tigray; the Sexual Violence against Women and rape, the destruction of farmers land and tools, destroying their livelihoods, the looting and killings of innocent people.
- The Patriarch called on the International community to take action to stop the genocide.
- Reuters Special investigative report says across Ethiopia, Tigrayans are being fired and jailed since fighting erupted in the Tigray region.
- Reuters spoke to more than two dozen Tigrayans who said their careers and personal lives have been upended due to their ethnicity.
- Tigrayans interviewed by Reuters said there was a new wave of arrests in the capital in April 2021. Around 300 Tigrayans were held in a warehouse-style building in Addis Ababa.
- The arrests included a priest, two women with children, and a beggar. They were arrested after showing Tigrayan issued ID cards. The crackdown has not been limited to soldiers. Tigrayan diplomats, professors, journalists, business people, and also the families of Tigrayan soldiers also say that they are feeling the backlash.
- The Ethiopian Election board has extended voter registration by 15 days for the general election on June 5th outside of the Somali and Afar region.
Disclaimer: All information in this situation report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. The publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand the potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or the impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.
Links of interest
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/ethiopia-conflict-tigrayans/
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/08/africa/orthodox-church-tigray-ethiopia-intl/index.html
As opposed to strong accusations made by Prosperity party supporters and those who brew Anti-Tegarus sentiments among Ethiopians, His Holiness did publicly condemned the massacre of civilians in other parts of Ethiopia , committed outside Tigray, prior to his last recorded message to the world. His Holiness Abune Matias was seen engulfed in flood of tears when he talked about the massacre in those regions in 2010 EC.
You may take a look at his previous sermons that Our Patriarch His Holiness delivered .
Excerpts from the Ethiopian Patriarch’s speech
(On the slaughter of his flock in the Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia)
…My children! I am pleading to the Creator in my prayers with tears about your suffering. I have been asking the government daily. Today, I am grief-stricken. I just want to weep like a child. My heart is mourning. I am crying daily and have not slept. We asked the government thinking that things would get better but we haven’t seen change. Rather, I got my children slaughtered. While I taught you saying ‘Peace! Peace!’, those who do not know it disturbed you. My children! Do not hold a grudge against me…
Amharic version : ሁሌም ስለ እናን ተ(ስለ ሁሉም የመንፈስ ቅዱስ ልጆቻቸው) እያለቀስኩ ነው፡
ልጆቼ እንባዬን እያፈሰስኩ ስለ እናተ ስቃይ አምላካችንን በጸሎት እየጠየኩት ነው፡፡ መንግሥትንም ዘወትር እየተማጸንኩ ነው፡፡ ዛሬ ሆድ ብሶኛል አልቅስ አልቅስ ልክ እንደ ሕጻን ይለኛል፤ ልቤ በኃዘን ተኮራምቷል፤ እንቅልፍ በዓይኔ ጠፉቷል እንባ ብቻ ሆኗል፡፡ ከዛሬ ነገ ይሻላል እያልኩኝ መንግሥትም እንዲያቆም ብንጠይቅም ምንም ያየንው ለውጥ የለም፡፡ ይልቁንስ ልጆቼ አስጨረስኳችሁ፡፡ ሰላም ሰላም እያልኩኝ እናተን ሳስተምር ሰላም የማያውቁ ሰላም ነሷችሁ ልጆቼ አትቀየሙኝ… ….. ዝም ያልኳችሁ እንዳይመስላችሁ ሁሌም ስለ እናተ እያለቀስኩ ነው፡፡ ጌታ ሆይ ፍረድ በቁሜ የልጆቼን ሰቆቃ ከምታሳየኝ ሞቴን አቅርብልኝ ልጆቼ የሚፈጸመውን ግፍ ልከላከልላችሁ አልቻልኩም፣ አንተው ተመልክተህ ፍርዱን ስጥ፡፡!!! { ብፅዕ ወቅዱስ አብነ ማትያስ ፖትርያርክ ርዕሰ ሊቃነ ጳጳሳት ዘኢትዮጵያ ሊቀ ጳጳስ ዘአክሱም ወጨጌ ዘመንበረ ተክለሃይማኖት } የቅዱስነታቸው በረከት አይለየን!
His Holiness has been tireslessly condeming the violence in the entire country , but not exclusively advocating for Tigray and Tegarus, in contrast to the allegations made by supporters of Prosperity party and tribalists.
In His recent message, His Holiness made an impromptu speech and He was not reading from the text . It is immoral and irrelegious attitude to engage in a hair splitting task in order to find a single word and twist it to fit ones own political agenda and individualized ethnic based approach.
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. የእግዚአብሔርን ቃል የተናገሩአችሁን ዋኖቻችሁን አስቡ፥ የኑሮአቸውንም ፍሬ እየተመለከታችሁ በእምነታቸው ምሰሉአቸው። Hebrew 13:7 Hence, We must pay honor to our fathers .
ዋኖቻቹሁን አስቡ በብፁዕ ወቅዱስ አባታችን ላይ ዛቻ ና ማስፈራሪያ ያሰሙ የተስተዋሉ ወገኖች ከሀይማናታቸው ይልቅ የብልፅግና ፓርቲ ፕሮፓጋንዳ ና የሀሰት ትርክት ይበልጥብናል ማለታቸውን አስውለናል፥፥በብፁዕ ወቅዱስ አባታችን በተደጋጋሚ ጊዜያት ከግራይ ጦርት በፊት ስለተከሰቱ የሕዝባችን ዕልቂት በአደባባይ ሲናገሩ ና ሲያለቅሱ ቆይተዋል፥፥በቅርቡ ባስተላለፉት መልዕክትም በኢትዮጵያ ያለውን (ከትግራይ ውጪ)ግጭትና ዕልቂት ኮንነዋል፥፥በትራግይ ያለው ጦርት ግን የከፋ የተያዩ ሀገራትን ያሳተፈ የጅምላ ጭፍጨፋ በመሆኑ አስፍተው ተግረዋል፥፥ይህ ከዘረኝነት ጋር የሚያገናኝ የለውም፥፥እሳው ስለ ተናገሩ ይባባሳል፥መፀለይ ብቻ ነው ያለባቸው ወዘተ የሚሉ የቤተክርስቲያን አባቶች ለምን የእኛ ሥራ ተጋለጠ ከማለት በዘለለ ሌላ አንድምታ የለውም፥፥መጥምቀ መለኮት ዮሐንስ ሄሮድስን ኢታውስብ ብእሲተ እሁከ ፊሊጶስ አለው ብለው ያስተምራሉ (የወንድምህን የፊሊጶስ ሚስት ታገባ አታግባ(በሚስትነት ትወስድ ዘንድ አይገባህም)ብሎ ይገሥፀውና ይመክረው ነበር፥፥ታዲያ አባቶች በዘመናቸው ስለሚፈፀመው ዕልቂት በአደባባይ መናገርን ትተው በበአታቸው ገብተው መፀለይ የጨለማ መብራት አያሰኝም፧
እሳቸው የሀይማኖት አባት ናቸው ማስረጃ ስለሌለው ፥አለም ስላላመነበት ስለ ሰሜን ዕዝ ስላል ተናገሩ የእኛ አባት አይደሉም ወያኔ ናቸው ወዘተ አያሰኝም፥፥ምነው ቤተክህነት በሌላው ሀገረ ስብከትና ክልል ስለተፈፀመው ግጭት ስትናገርና ስታወግዝ ስለትግራይ ሳይናገሩ ቀሩ ብላቹ ለምን አልወቀሳቹሁም? ተጋሩ የኦርቶዶክስ ልጆች አይደሉምን ??
ልብ በሉ በፅሑፍ የቀረበ ና በንባብ የተላለፈ መልዕክት አይደለም፥የቃላትና የሀሳብ ግድፈት አይቀሬ ነው፥፥እሳቸው ለብዙ ጊዜያት ለቁም እስር ተዳርገው የቆዩ አሁንም በዚሁ ሀዘንና የሰቆቃ ላይ ያሉ አባት ናቸው፥እንባዬ በቀንና በሌሊት ምግብ ሆነኝ እንዳለ ቅዱስ ዳዊት ለመንፈስ ልጆቻው እና ለሀገራቸው ሲፀልዩ፥ ።መዝ ፵፪፥፫
ከአንድ ሚዲያ ስለ ቅርቡ መልዕክታቸው ሲናገር እንዲህ ይላል “የፓትርያርኩ መልዕክት እንዴት የመንግሥትን የስለላ (የደህንነት)መረብ ጥሶ ና ሾልኮ ወጣ?” ፥ይህ ቅዱስነታቸው በምን ያህል መጠን በአይነቁራኛና በቁም እስረኛነት እንደሚጠበቁ መገመት አያዳግትም፥፥በፆም በፀሎት እና በተባሕትዎ የኖሩ አባት በመሆናቸው ፆር ተፃዋሪ(ተጋሽ)ሆነው ስለ ቻሉት እንጂ ፈታኝ መሆኑ ሁላችንም አንስውም ፥፥ በእርጥብ እንጨት እንዲህ የሚያደርጉ ከሆኑ፥ በደረቀውስ እንዴት ይሆን፧ (የሉቃስ ፳፫፥፴፩) If they do this to His Holiness , they could inevitably suppress and torture others !
ተከልክየ ነበረ ስላሉት እኔ እስከሚረዳኝ ቅዱስነታቸው በታላቅ የአባቶች ጉባኤ(የሊቃነ ጳጳሳት ምልዓተ ጉባኤ፥ሁሉም ባሉበት ና ከሞላ ጎደል ሁሉንም ባሳተፈ መልኩ ፥ምንም እንኳ በተለያየ ቦታ ቢኖሩ ቢከትሙ አድርገው ተመካክረውና ተወያይተው ውሳኔያቸውን ለሚመለከው አካል ማስተላለፍንና ጦርነቱ እንዲቆም ድምፃቸውን ማሰማት ስለተከለከሉ፥፥ ምንም እንኳን የበላይ አባት ፓትርያርክ ቢሆኑ ሌሎቹን አባቶች ቃልና ስምምነት ማረጋገጥ ሲለነበረባቸው፥በተጨማሪም በግላቸው ተነሳሽነት ድምፃቸውን ለማሰማት በተደጋጋሚ ቢሞክሩም ለሕዝብ እንዳይደርስ በመደረጉ ነው ፥፥ እንዳይወጡም የተከለከሉ መሆናቸው ና ተፅዕኖ እንደተደረገ ከሰማን ቆየት ብለናል ፥፥ ቅዱስነታቸው በስማ በለው ሳይሆን አለም ያወቀውን ማስረጃ ስላለው ግፍ ና የጦር ወንጀል ተናግረዋል ስለሌላው ክልልም አንብተዋል ኮንነዋል፥፥ከፖለቲካ ትርፍና ፍጆታ ርቀን እውነትን እንጋፈጥ፥የብልፅግና የምረጡኝ ቅስቀሳና የዱለታ ሥራ ወንዝ አያሻግርም፥ጎጠኝነትን መከፋፈልን በሕዝበ ክርሥቲያን መካከል መዝራት የሀያሉ እግዚአብሔር ቅዱስ መንፈስ አጥብቃ ትጠላለች፥፥፥ከውጭ ሀገር ተፈብርኮ በአብዮትና በመሰሎቹ ተጭኖ ወደ ሀገር የገባ ፀረ ሕዝብና ፀረ ክርስትና የብልፅግና ርዕዮት ማራገብ አይጠቅመንም፥እያንዳንዱን ቃል እየሰነጠቁ ተገቢ ያልሆነ ትርጉምና መንፈሳዊነት የጎደለው ኢክርስቲያናዊ መልዕክት በመስጠት ሕዝብን ለጠብ ከመጋበዝ እንቆጠብ!!
His Holiness is reportedly placed under house arrest and we earnestly request the international community, exclusively the Members of Oriental Orthodox Church patriarchates become His voice , to help us end His house arrest and let him excercise his sacred Ecclesiastical adminstrative and fatherly task as usual!
May the blessings and prayers of His Holiness Abune Mathias conferred upon on us all!!!
የብፅዕ ወቅዱስ አብነ ማትያስ ፖትርያርክ ር የቅዱስነታቸው በረከት አይለየን! ! አሜን !!!! We want His Holiness to be free
Sources :
https://mytzta.com/abune-mathias-blames-ethiopian-government-for-atrocities-in-various-regions-of-ethiopia-mereja-com/
https://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/i-am-pleading-to-the-creator-in-my-prayers-with-tears-patriarch-abune-mathias-of-ethiopia/
https://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/we-are-unsure-if-they-are-dead-or-alive-on-the-fate-of-the-orthodox-faithful-in-oromiya/
https://ethioreference.com/archives/273145 ( posted on 19/04/2021 ) His Photo posted displaying him weeping for the people massacred in the conflict outside Tigray.
https://et.tgstat.com/ru/channel/@Ethiopian_Orthodox
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Heni-snap/477089406381455
Dear Martin,
thank you very much for your emails, that I send my self to Abba Malaku ( the priest Angel Olaran from St Mary in Wukro) We are very worried about the situation there and I would like to ask you what you think about it. I would like to go soon, but I would like your advise about this war, do you think it will take long time to finish? it s very dangerous to go now? It s better to wait a couple of months? please I will be very grateful about your advise, cause you know better the actual situation there.
Thanks again, great regards
Patricia Alvarez
> El 10 may 2021, a las 9:00, Martin Plaut escribió: > >